Halcyon
by Misa-chi
Summary: Misa, whose tragic past stops her life in time, decides she wants to finally move forward. Now an empty silhouette of her former self, how will she move beyond all the pain? Going through what she repressed so long ago, she picks up her controller. The all too familiar words greet her once again: "Welcome to Halycon".
1. 00: Beginnings

_You can't ever really feel what it's like to be alone until you're surrounded by everyone else._

**Prologue**

**• • •**

After lying for hours wrapped up in bed, I finally brought myself to get up. After placing my feet on the ground, I weakly stood up-now what? A cold, Saturday night in winter, yet here I stand-barely dressed in my robe with all the lights off. After a sigh, I decided to unlock the door.  
Nothing-not a single sound, not a single person, but me. I don't know why I expected any change of scenery.  
After all, that's how this place always is; just like me, it is  
_deserted_.

**• • •**

Mom and Dad both work overnight shifts, not because we need the money to get by, but only because they want more. That's how my parents are, they're greedy. They care too much about what other people think; they live to please and for pleasure.  
They come home in the early morning, around the time I wake up for school. By then, they would already have retreated to their room, and fortified their walls against any intruders-that includes me.  
So that's how it came to be every day. Without them around, I had a lot of time to spare.  
And with that time, I grew up independently.

Unfortunately, despite all my freedom that teenagers my age usually rebel for, life sets its limits.  
I'm a very weak person, physically and emotionally. Born an asthmatic, I was never allowed to play with kids. Every time I seized the chance to, my mom would come running, with a slap following afterwards.  
"What are you doing? I told you that you weren't allowed to go outside!" she would scream.  
Mortified, my 5-yearold self learned very quickly that anything outside the front door was considered a bad place.  
So set the routine for my daily life, until I was around 13: wake up, go to school, chat amongst the kids I sat next to, come back home as soon as possible, finish homework, sleep.  
Growing up this way, I thought this was how every kid my age was raised up too: monotonous and complacent.

After my 12th birthday, things changed. Because my parents wanted to send me to some elite school to satisfy their selfish desires, they decided to take up strenuous overnight shifts. We already had the money, but they wanted extra wealth for luxurious means.  
As everyone knows, puberty hits hard. I suddenly felt as if the life I had been previously living was just not good enough.  
Teenage angst.  
Growing used to being left at home, I finally gathered the courage; one night in the summer going into high school, I slipped out the front door to experience the world as it really is-beautiful.

Living on the edge of a city landlocked by rural lands, it's easy to see nature in its purest form.  
This world-for sure-isn't as bad as I had been told.  
That night, I put on my glasses so I could see everything in HD. Every single raw detail I had been deprived of for 8 years, I could now see and touch to my heart's content.  
_"Wow..."_ I thought to myself, _"how could anything so at peace with itself be something evil?"_  
The weather in this city had always been ideal. Perfect temperatures each season, perfect amount of night, day, and rain. That night had been no exception.  
The abundance of trees that dotted the outskirts of town could be heard rustling from the wind a mile away.  
The colors of the flowers that accompanied said trees, painted a motion picture so picturesque that even a photograph could not capture.  
Then there were the stars. The stars that had always been blurred away now seemed so clear, and they filled the sky as if night hoarded them all to itself.  
But the best part, was you.

"It's really great, isn't it?" a male voice said behind me.  
Partly scared from being alone for the first time at night, and partly surprised that someone even bothered to speak to me, I hesitated to answer right away.  
But he continued cheerily, "the stars especially, they're wonderful!"  
Excited by the topic of conversation, I whipped around ecstatically, "They are!"  
And then my eyes met yours, you stranger.  
Maybe it had been the emotions of a girl who was slowly growing into a woman, or the emotions of a strange person who was just suddenly shown the world; either way, your presence made me blush.  
Thankfully, you had been looking up to the sky. "Not many people take the time to look at the things around them, they're too busy for such a thing." you said, then smiled. "It's important to appreciate the little things."  
"I didn't know there was someone else out here too, usually I'm alone! My name is Kyou, it's nice to meet you."  
"U-uh..." I stammered, "Yes, hi. It's nice to meet you too. I'm Misa," I awkwardly blurted out  
Smiling once again, you said, "Well, Misa, do you want me to show you around? Sight-seeing like this is much better when you're not alone. This will be a first for me too."  
Well, I had time to spare, and this new world was piquing my interest, I had no reason to refuse. So you took me along, and you showed me all it had to offer.

This was how it was every summer night after that.  
I'd escape to the outside realm and you, my shining knight, would take me into your protection.  
It turns out you were already attending the school I was going to be placed into. What luck! Our meetings wouldn't only be limited to our nightly rendezvous.  
I had gotten a friend, one who I could talk to about everything.  
The gentlest person, never quick to anger, always smiling and kind.

After meeting Kyou, my life turned around. No longer was I confined to my lonely two-story home. I was an adventurer, every day was a new journey with Kyou by my side.  
We would always hang out at school, and then a little more after, up until night fall.  
My special friend and I.

"Kyou, we should find something new to do." I said to him one day, sitting down at the trunk of our favorite tree.  
"Really? Like what?"  
Closing my eyes, I tried to envision activities for us to do. "I don't know, something amazing, something revolutionary, something that allows us to do what we could never do before!"  
"No such thing exists," he shot me, "life has its limits."  
"Boo, don't be like that. You're no fun." I pouted. "Haven't you ever wondered what it would be like to have powers or anything like that?"  
He laughed at my quirkiness, "You mean like in an online game?"  
"Why not? They're super popular with people our age for a reason. Definitely, we'll be able to do things that real life could never let us do!"  
"Don't you think that would be nice, Kyou?" I turned to him with a beaming face full of expectation.  
Our eyes locked, and a moment of silence ensued. He looked at me with such an unmoved expression.  
But even that melted into his usual gentleness.  
"Especially since you have asthma, you could do so much more and not get sick," he said as he pat my head.  
"Exactly! I'm glad you could see things my way." I leaned back against the tree, full of triumph.

"Yeah. You could be a knight or something like that." I said nonchalantly, leading up with a yawn afterwards.  
The peacefulness of the scene around us was enveloping my senses; I would soon fall asleep, I knew it.  
He didn't say anything after that, obviously deep in thought.  
Noticing my drowsiness, he let me lean on him.  
The sun's rays danced around us, and the spring breeze came in to say hello.  
Comfortable.  
Peaceful.  
"Sure," he finally replied, scooting closer into me.  
Serene.  
Bliss.  
Heavy eyelids fluttering downward.

Warmth.

"And I will protect you," was the last thing I remember before dozing off.

**• • •**

**Hello, everyone! It's Misa-chi (formerly RxC HxA), I haven't written a story since 2009. So please bear with me! Everything in time will come together. So please don't be too harsh on me ^^. Thank you for reading!  
**


	2. 01: Le Cerebi

• • •

"I wonder what the rush from being in a team sport is like," I thought out loud as Kyou and I walked around school grounds.  
Such was the epitome of a teenager in spring.  
After school activities and clubs manifested themselves in classrooms and fields-all their members putting forth their utmost dedication and confidence to the chances of excelling in a competition or meet.

There's something about a group of zealous people working for a common cause.  
For someone like me, you can't help but feel envious.  
Unable to participate in such a thing and unable to create those kinds of joyous memories, unable to form such close relationships with so many others.  
For me, I only had shallow breaths and Kyou.  
Inhale, exhale.  
Exhale, inhale.  
Just as my breathing, my life's only been moving at a steady pace.  
There are no highs or lows, just a teenager moving swimmingly through every passing day.  
"It's nothing too spectacular," Kyou stated as we walked down dirt paths, "I've had my fair share in middle school."  
"You think it's all fun and games, but not when you break a bone or something like that," he chuckled.  
Trying to empathize, I just smiled and laughed along too. "I suppose so."

"I'll come over tonight," Kyou says to me, "Can I?"  
"Hmm," I mumble, putting on a professional air, "let me check my schedule." Holding up my imaginary planner and turning numerous pages, I identify today's date. "Yes, I should be free. I can fit you in," I say smugly.  
After closing up my planner, I promptly get a vicious hair ruffling.  
"Good, then," he smiles, satisfied at my now disheveled strands and pouts. "I'll give you a call. So be sure to not fall asleep."  
"Yeah, yeah, you jerk," I mutter, as I try to salvage the ruins of my hair.

Technology, as far as I'm concerned, was highly developed by the 2XXX's. Such technology for gaming was no exception-if anything, technology for gaming had to be one of the most advanced due to the high demands around the world by elite video gamers and novices alike.  
Technological advances made it so that you weren't only in a virtual universe, but a parallel one at that. The amount of detail, each crack and crevice finely chiseled down to the finest pixel. One could easily find their self immersed in such a thing, that they could mistake it for reality.

Kyou came in late at night-thankfully, it was a Friday at that, and so there was no school curfew to fret about for the next day-and I welcomed him into my personal galaxy, locking the door behind us.  
"Well, have I got something for you!" he exclaims, giving me a sort of cheeky smile.  
My eyes widen with excitement. "A surprise? Present? A gift for me?"  
"For both of us," he says as he shows me two boxes.  
Ecstatic, I immediately snatch the cardboard out of his hands and open it up for myself.  
"You were serious about it after all!" I gasped.  
The Cerebi, the first technological advancement of its kind. A sort of metallic glove that one slips onto the pads of their fingers, this invention opened up the door to virtual reality to the digital market.  
Rather than using headsets to block one's vision of reality, the Cerebi connected one's cerebral pulses to the internet and the game itself. Rather than substituting your vision with pixel images, you were placed into the pixels themselves.  
Less harmful than the side effects of headset addiction, all you needed with the Cerebi was your hand imprint, and you were in.  
"Amazing... _How_?" I marveled at its sleekness. Such a small thing that allows you to experience something so grand. These things don't come cheap!  
"I have my ways." He states in a matter-of-fact manner, opening up a Cerebi of his own.  
Slipping it on, he looked to me and said, "You won't have to feel restricted anymore. You and I both can experience life as we never knew it."  
The Cerebi works by gathering your genetic imprint, and in some way, re-creating you in a perfect state. Your body is no different, and your mentality is obviously left untouched. But your imperfections, flaws, blemishes-they're gone.  
I've heard of this feature, but I don't really fully understand, so I look on.

"You don't have to carry an inhaler with you, and you don't have to be afraid of collapsing anymore," he says, plopping himself on the seat next to me on my bed. "You can run, you can jump, maybe you can even fly."  
"There will be no one to tell you 'You can't do this,' or 'You can't do that'. There will be no one to slap you, and no one to lock you inside," he says gently. "It's just you, and I, and unlimited possibilities."  
There he goes again. His gentle sincerity. He is always so concerned about me, yet he never openly shows it. Kyou teases me a bit, but he smiles whenever he does it. I'm blessed to have been able to see this side of him.  
"Yeah," I smile back.

"There's this really cool game I heard about, don't worry about how to get it or what to do. I've already covered it for you."  
"Just relax, okay?" He says to me soothingly. "Lay down."  
My heart starting to beat, I awkwardly nod my head. He watches me with a careful eye, as I maneuver myself towards the wall and find a comfortable spot to lay myself down.  
"Now close your eyes," he tells me, and I listen.  
"Lift up your hand with your Cerebi," and I do. Then all of a sudden, I feel my right hand suspended in mid-air. Such an unnatural sensation, it's a bit frightening. "Don't open your eyes now. Just keep it there!" He tells me.  
Something cool and flat materializes underneath my fingertips, following with some "beeps"!

_Oh, God, it's actually working._

_Awesome!_

_I'm scared._

A rampage of thoughts race through my mind.  
But at the same time, it's a bit calming, and all this excitement that I previously had is flushing right out of my system; I find myself slipping out of consciousness.  
As the beeping continues, I feel a hand softly stroke my head.  
"I'll meet you soon, Misa" Kyou tells me.

And finally, I've hit black.

• • •

•


End file.
